31/10/2025
แดสแด แดสแดแดแด แดแดสส๊ฑ แดษชแด
ษดษชษขสแด. ๊ฑษชสแดษดแดแด ๊ฐแดสส๊ฑ. สแดแด ๊ฑแดแดแดแดสษชษดษข ๊ฑแดษชส๊ฑโฆ
๐๐๐ค ๐๐ช๐ง๐ ๐จ ๐๐๐๐ง๐?: ๐พ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ก, ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐
Halloween is not a Philippine holiday, yet that does not stop the horrors of folklore from haunting us. While Western countries fill the 31st with sweet chocolates and candies, cheesy films, and scary costumes, our traditional All Saintsโ Eve practices encourage our silence, respect, and commemoration for souls and saints known as Undas. But fear not (or should you?), as Philippine folklore gives us spooks that linger and creep up on us, ready to strike anytime. These shapeshifting, malicious, humanoid figures not only lie within fictional, storybook pages; they live inside rickety kubos, mounds of dirt, during the dead of night, above thick treetops, below the full moon and thick clouds, and in shallow watersโthese creatures lurk in the Philippinesโ soil, waters, and wind, and, if youโre unlucky, reveal themselves to you.
What walks and resides on land are the infamous mangkukulam, nuno sa punso, and tiyanak. Black magic practitioners, the mangkukulam, perform rituals and cast spells of revenge and malice on those whoโve wronged them through voodoo and incantations to curse victims with pain tenfold their wrongdoings, manifesting in unexplainable, severe, incurable illnesses. Next, dwarves, known as the nuno sa punso, thrive in ant or termite hills and have scared passerbys into saying โtabi tabi poโ aloud, as these goblins are easily angered and disturbed, and those that unfortunately trespass are cursed to have swollen, aching feet, and vomit up blood or black liquid. Last, the demonic, vampiric infants, the tiyanak, are bloodthirsty tricksters that disguise themselves as abandoned babies who wail to lead helpers to themโthen, they transform into hideous, wrinkly, sharp-toothed and clawed creatures that attack victims to drink their blood and gnaw their flesh.
These powerful beings are unforgiving; their attacks are rarely counteracted, and their strength, speed, and wits are unmatched.
The seas, rivers, and air are not safe, either, inhibited by the swimming sirena and siyokoy, and the kapre and manananggal circling above, both on the lookout for their next victims, always. Sirens and their masculine counterparts, the sirena and siyokoy, are merpeople with human faces and scaly bodies, serving as guardians of their territory and attacking fishermen who harm their waters using their beautiful voices to lure men closer before drowning them. Next, chain-smoking protectors of the forest and animals, the kapre, are large, beastly, man-like gods holding ci**rs who rest atop huge, old trees; they are friendly tricksters who scare children away from the woods to prevent them from becoming lost, and prank travellers by changing their paths. Lastly, a beautiful maiden by day and ghoul at night, the manananggal untethers its head, arms, and abdomen from her lower body at night to fly far and high, keeping an eye (and tongue!) out for homes that house pregnant mothers, using its extremely long tongue to eat unborn fetuses and sn**ch children from a distance. Like the aforementioned beings, these brutes have demigod-like characteristics that make their defeats almost impossible. For one thing, we should know that itโs best to avoid disrupting them, and for another, encountering them leads to inevitable suffering.
October 31 may be a day dedicated to horror, yet the lurking beings of Philippine folklore do not wait for specific days to haunt their victims. These creatures exist everywhereโcrawling our earth, resting in the deep bodies of water, and circling the vast atmosphereโpatiently waiting for their next victims. These tales of sightings and even first-hand experiences, passed down to us from our elders, are not fictional attempts to evoke fear, but their morals and lessons serve us to be cautious of disturbing the supernatural. Remember to always stay safe and vigilant; it is harder to spot who follows us, especially when itโs dark and quiet. Happy Halloween, readers!
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Written by Natalia Santos
Illustration by Sophia and Ash*ta
